Savage Tide

The voyage ends in disaster

When we last left our heroes a terrible storm had forced The Sea Wyvern off course until it collided with a reef. The heavy seas had washed several of the crew overboard and the sharp coral had gouged a large hole in the side of the ship below the water line. Any one could clearly see that the ship was no longer sea-worthy if it was not resting on the reef it would have sunk to the bottom.

The first storm to the Isle of Dread

The storm struck during the night, Amella Venkalie and the crew fought with it throughout the next day and well into the following evening, by dawn the winds had settled down enough to see that The Blue Nixie was nowhere to be seen. The standing orders if the ships were separated was to continue to Farshore and reunite there, and that is exactly what Amella intended to do, even though she could not know for sure is Lavinia´s ship had made it safety through the storm. While the winds had dropped the sky had become dull and overcast, and as night fell a damp fog drifted in to surround the ship making a bearing from the stars impossible.

As the grey dawn broke, burning fitfully through the morning fog to light the sea, the adventurers discovered something strange about the waters below. They had become almost solid with weeds and vines, The Sea Wyvern was trapped in a Sargasso. It extended about half a mile to the west but in all other directions it seemed to stretch to the horizon, and they were not allow trapped within it seemed to be dozens of other ships, and some looked as if they had been there for many years. This was no ordinary Sargasso, but Journey´s End, a sailor´s myth, a huge expanse of seaweed that once a ship entered it never left.

Fort Blackwell to Ruja

During the voyage Dalrin and Tristy Sommers, one of Hesse´s girls, had grown close, so when she dragged him into a store cupboard he assumed she wanted to take the relationship further. Unfortunately it was not Tristy but Rowyn Kellani disguised by magic, fortunately for him her attempt to fascinate him and persuade him that a moonlight skinny dip was a good idea failed and he saw through her disguise. She fled up on deck while he called he the alarm (and hitched up his britches). On deck she used her illusions and spells to good effect but Tamzana Alteresine used the magical book, they had discovered in the summer house, to see things as they truly were and so she was cornered and put to the sword.

Voyage to the Isle of Dread

After their short “vacation” to the summer house the adventurers returned to Sasserine to find Lavinia´s preparations for the expedition to Farshore, at the Isles of Dread, nearly complete. They were given command of The Sea Wyvern, while Lavinia and The Jade Raven´s would command The Blue Nixie. Both ships carried supplies for the Farshore colony together with settlers and provisions for the voyage.

At the party´s request Amella Venkalie retained her position as Captain of The Sea Wyvern, being a more experienced sailor. Other notable crew and passengers included Avner Meravanchi a noble that was helping finance the trip; Father Feres a priest of Hieroneous; Urol Forol a gnome naturalist who had visited the Isle of Dread before; Lirith Veldirose an experienced deckhand; Skald an odd looking elven ranger; Hesse Tanner a retired brothel madam seeking a new life with two of her working girls and Tavey Nesk a young cabin boy. Unknown to the crew Rowyn Kellani had also stowed away aboard intent on revenge.

A side quest reveals a cursed family history

On Godsday the surviving adventures rest and give thanks they survived the savage terrors in Kraken Cove. Lavinia Vanderboren in the meantime has already been making plans for a trip to Farshore, a colony her parents established on the Isle of Dread and that she has learned about through the journal they recovered from the family vault.

She has had flyers posted around Sasserine calling for settlers and sailors for an expedition to the distant island colony. The adventurers except her proposal to crew The Sea Wyvern but she informs them she doesn’t intend to leave until the start of next month, so if they have any business in Sasserine they should take the next few days to sort it out.

The Savage Tide is revealed

With repairs recently completed on The Blue Nixie, and Lavinia Vanderboren determined to capture her brother, she tells the party take the ship, at this time captained by Amella Venkalie, to Blood Bay. There they hoped to find Vanthus Vanderboren, who planed a raid on the Crimson Fleet hideout. The hideout was situated in caves in a small cover protected by a dangerous reef, know locally as Kraken Cove.

As the ship approached the bay the adventures saw numerous dead deformed sea creatures floating in the waters, and smoke from what must have been a fierce blaze burning in cove itself. As the turned into the bay they discovered a ship drifting dangerously just outside the reefs that make the cove a perfect hideout. Amella explained they wouldn’t be able to clear the reef without good charts of the reef, so they would need to find charts or set down the other side of the cliffs and make way overland.

On the hope of finding charts or some explanation as to what had happened in the bay Amella brought The Blue Nixie alongside the drifting ship. As the adventurers boarded, The Sea Wyvern, they saw it’s deck was covered in blood and the bodies of butchered sailors, their limbs covered in cuts and bit marks. Some were twisted and deformed as if they were partially mutated into something else but were died during the process, the new form unable to survive.

A family feud is begins

The party was contacted by Lavinia Vanderboren and invited to a meeting at her family’s manor house. Lavinia’s parents had recently died in a tragic fire that destroyed one of her families trading ships. She became head of the family shipping business.

Lavinia asked the party to help recover her ship The Blue Nixie which was being held by a corrupt harbour master’s agent named Soller Vark. The adventurers sneaked on-board the vessel while it was moored in the Sasserine’s bay. They made short work of the thugs that were attempting to off load an illegal cargo of exotic animals, and managed to capture Soller Vark and turn him over to the port authorities.